Some of China's restaurants are now providing drivers for customers who have been drinking after police launched a two-month drink driving campaign earlier this month.

"Not only customers who have been drinking but others who don't feel like driving can get replacement drivers for free," said a restaurant manager based in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province.

The service becomes available after the customer signs an agreement with the restaurant to authorize a replacement driver to take him to a designated place.

In case of an accident, if it is confirmed that the driver is to blame, the restaurant will bear responsibility.

The name of the customer and the driver, and the time of leaving the restaurant as well as reaching a destination are also recorded.

The restaurant manager said he had recruited five male and five female drivers.

"The drivers we have hired have five years' driving experience", said a manager of a Taoranju restaurant outlet in west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

In Beijing, the crackdown on drink-driving is bringing more business for companies supplying replacement drivers.

He Jin, general manager of a Beijing-based company, said on average, it received 120 requests for replacement drivers a day.

The first Beijing replacement driver company was set up in 2004. And now, besides professionals, car-rental agencies and driving schools have got in on the act.

In the southwestern province of Yunnan, He Kui, manager of the Yunzhuangjiayan restaurant, said "Many customers ask us for replacement drivers."

The business, however, has faced obstacles.

"A legal vacuum is strangling the business. There are no fee-charging standards," said Zhang Jizhi, manager of a local car-rental company.

In Yunnan, fees start at 40 yuan (5.85 U.S. dollars) and 4.5 yuan for each kilometer travelled, which could become quite expensive, Zhang said.

Zhang Liang, a customer, is concerned. "I am not totally at ease when somebody else drives my car. I'd rather leave my car at the restaurant and come and get it the next day."

In Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, Wang Yang, the manager of the Waipojia restaurant, said: "We encourage customers who have been drinking to take a taxi or get their relatives to take them home. We also provide parking space, so they can come and get their cars later."

The anti-drink driving campaign imposes harsh penalties. Licenses of drunk drivers will be suspended for three or six months and, in serious cases, the driver will be detained for 15 days. In case of two violations in a year, the license will be revoked for two to five years.

The campaign is the latest in a series of ministry moves against drink driving following an increase in traffic fatalities and accidents in recent months that have raised great public concern.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2009)